iPhone 4 users have discovered they can slip a Bank of America NFC card under the covers of an iPhone, sharing the NFC goodness previously restricted to the competition.
iPhones don't support Near Field Communications, at least not yet, while the latest handsets running Symbian, Android, and even Bada have the short-range radio …

And we have a winner...

Question

Question of the day, why would I *want* NFC in a phone, exactly? I find the whole idea ridiculous that someone stealing my phone doesn't just get the phone and any plan/prepaid credit but potentially the ability to spend even more of my money.

I don't have an iPhone (last phone I bought is a cheap Nokia thing) but if I were shopping around for a smart phone, the last thing I'd want is the ability out of the box to spend even more money through it... IMO, good on Apple for not including an NFC capability!

Fail...

Wrong! Again another poorly authored article that does nothing more than generalise that all, or a majority of iPhone owners envy every feature offered by other pones that the iPhone/s do not support.

Sorry to say, but this has to be one of the worst articles I've ever read on El Reg! I think the editor should staple the author's scrotum to his chair until he learns to write an unbiased article that contains substance and something actually factual..

It does indeed appear that some people cannot be teased.

I have to admit I find it highly entertaining that some people feel the need to convert their iShiney into an ersatz version of an NFC phone. It reminds me rather of an incident in Rome in the early eighties when a disco caught fire. It was evacuated immediately and a large number of punters did not have time to collect their mobiles. After two or three weeks there were still half of them left in the cloakroom (very strange given what a mob cost way back then and the high status they conferred on the owner) and the management took a look at them. All fake, empty shells, posaphones in fact. Now what does that remind me of?

Nope

'Duck Tape' is a specific brand of tape and they do more than just duct tape; I've seen clear packing tape with the 'Duck Tape' branding. "Duct tape" is the correct term for the generic item in question.

"Duct tape is like the force. It has a light side, a dark side, and it holds the universe together."

@Cliff

Not News

I'm sorry but the fact that someone has shoved a credit card inside an iPhone is not news, IMHO its akin to me claiming my HTC Desire is water proof as it survived a trip into the toilet or that my dog features 3G connectivity because I've attached a mobile phone to his collar. (I'd like to point out however that the later has not been done)

Hang on...

So they're just hiding an NFC card inside an iPhone? Surely by the same logic you could 'NFC a Cake' or 'NFC your Hand'.

At least reference the guy who melted down his Oyster card and put it into a magic wand - equivalent but far more of a 'win' if you ask me.

My Nexus S has NFC built-in, such that it can actually communicate with the phone and internet. However as far as I'm aware there are zero practical applications* for me at the moment anyway, so isn't it all a bit of a moot point?

(* apart from reading the ID number off my rail-bridge pass every time I put it in the wrong pocket...)

Where's Kevin Warwick?

iDuct Tape

Magic Wand

Who'd want it in any phone?

While I appreciate we've moved on from the mifare classic hacking days where free tube travel was possible with a reasonably powered laptop and a couple of minutes with one of the readers, I still don't trust NFC communication at all. My wallet has an anti-RF mesh lining to ensure nobody wafts something near my arse and steals £10 10 times during a bus (or tube!) journey.

Glad to see some comments on here pointing out that this feels like another "look at appletards, aren't they stupid" vibe to this story. But seriously, who wants NFC at all? It really is another locked-down protocol waiting to be cracked, hacked and exploited: it's hard enough persuading a bank your PIN didn't get told to someone when you get jacked by a hacked PinPad in the UK, how do you tell the bank your NFC card didn't get used to make 10 £10 transactions and get them to believe you when not even a PIN was required? (AFAIK, they ask for a pin or something every so often, maybe each 10 transactions).

NFC: An answer looking for a question. I'll take change, ta. At least then I can reward the good buskers.

Further correction..

"What's more interesting is that if a couple of geeks are prepared to go this far to get limited NFC functionality, then it's obviously something that a couple of geeks feel they need in their handset and to extrapolate any further would clearly be dodgy science/journalism."

Indeed.

L377er 0r d1g17

"Apple users do not like everyone else having a feature they haven't got, which can't have passed Apple by and lends weight to the idea that such a bodge will be unnecessary when the next iPhone comes around"

So Apple will take notice if users say a feature is missing? Really? SD card slot in iPad/Pod, usb connector for ipad/pod touch, ability to transfer files to/from ixxx without using iTunes, full screen ability in Safari...oh yes, Apple 'hears' is's customers, sometimes listens to them, but always ignores them.

I couldn't resist...

Hong Kong

I keep my Octopus card in my wallet. Nothing would annoy me more than being on the phone, boarding the MTR, and having to say "hold on" and moving my phone to the NFC reader. That, or having to bend down in an odd fashion to put my phone and my entire head near the NFC reader...

Apple commission

what about KFC in your iPhone

ok, so you loose your phone and it really sux. Now imagine you're the kind of idiot who would actually put a cred card inside your phone to make it 'look like' it can do some thing it can't (like those silly little boys who buy a cheap car with a small engine and fit 'Turbo' motiffs or spoilers to make it 'look like' it's a reak car) and you loose your phone ! the thief opens it up and 'HAPPY BIRTHDAY' you've given him your card as well as your phone - you muppet, clearly you deserve neither.

NFC = imature idea not yet thought through

KFC = poor quality sold as quality favoured by fanbois and children with wheel arches

@ Sarah Davis

<Insert evil smile here>

"......Apple users do not like everyone else having a feature they haven't got....." Oooh, quick, someone start a rumour that the next version of Android will include mind control of the phone! Should delay the release of the next iBone for a few decades....